Life

Watch This Couple Try Weird '50s Recipes

The next time someone says they wish they'd been alive during the Mad Men era, I'm just going to show them this video. In it, a couple tries recipes from the 1950s featuring fun (or "fun," as the case may be) dishes like beer dressing and Mexican chop suey. For real. As in, these are things that a) actually existed at one point, and b) people of today just recreated and put into their mouths. Sure, the dresses of the era were cute, but, like, I think I would honestly starve if this was the regular kind of food being consumed during my lifetime. I don't think I could do it. I would perish.

Hank Green of the vlogbrothers (and also brother of John Green) and his wife Katherine embarked on this extremely challenging food adventure after receiving an old recipe book from Katherine's grandmother for Christmas. Most of the dishes were cut from newspapers and magazines, implying that this kind of cooking was widespread. Horrible.

I mean, I get it, to a degree. The 1950s marked a rise in consumer culture, supermarkets, and processed and canned food. For those whose responsibility it was to prepare meals for their families, these innovations meant a huge rise in convenience. I can barely cook three meals a day for myself.

Still, though, it's not like diminished prep time also diminished tastebuds. I've included some of the key recipes below, in case you wanted to marvel at their bizarre-ness. Or cook them yourselves, but that's done at your own risk. Scroll down to check out the full video in all its disgusting glory, along with Hank and Katherine's magnificent reactions to it.

1. Golden Rabbit

Stir well 1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup.

Gradually blend in 1 can Tomato Soup; add 1/4 cup milk. Heat, stirring.

Pour over crackers or toast.

Not... the worst thing I've ever heard of... but... I don't know. I just don't know.

2. Beer Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

1 tsp. horseradish

1/4 cup beer

Mix mayonnaise and mustard together. Add horseradish and gradually stir in beer.

Kind of, uh, reverses any sort of that health stuff that salad does, though.

3. "Mexican Chop Suey." Yeah.

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 cup sliced tomatoes

1 medium sweet pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon flour

Fry the meat slowly in butter over low heat.

Remove meat, leaving juices to which should be added the vegetable ingredients, except tomatoes. Simmer until tender.

Add tomatoes, then add milk mixed with flour and simmer again until the mixture begins to thicken (like gravy).

Combine with meat and serve immediately.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

Check out the full video below for more 1950s delicacies:

Images: vlogbrothers/YouTube (4); Giphy